'Bad guy image, tattoos, good manager, relationship with Bollywood actresses': Ex-cricketer's rant about 'possible' requirements for India selection

NEW DELHI: The BCCI on Thursday announced the India white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, featuring three T20Is and three ODIs. The series will kick start Gautam Gambhir's tenure as head coach.
The squads see the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the ODI team and the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain. Notably absent from the T20I squad are Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma, despite their strong showings in the recent series against Zimbabwe.
Gaikwad had notable scores of 7, 77, and 49 in three innings against Zimbabwe.
While Rinku Singh, despite calls for his inclusion, missed out on an ODI call-up again but remains in the T20I team.

Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has criticized the omission of Gaikwad and Rinku from these squads, implying that non-performance-related factors might be influencing selections.

"Sometimes it seems like you need a bad guy image when the likes of Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and others are not selected for the Indian team. It seems that you need to be in a relationship with some Bollywood actresses, have a good media manager, and have body tattoos," Badrinath said in a viral video clip, originally in Tamil and translated by social media users.

Badrinath voiced his frustration on Cric Debate With Badri, which has generated significant online discussion. His comments reveal discontent with what he perceives as an unfair selection process that overlooks merit in favor of a certain image.
The selection decisions by the BCCI continue to be a topic of debate, as the cricket community scrutinizes the possible reasons behind these choices. As the team heads to Sri Lanka, the absence of players like Gaikwad and Rinku will remain a point of contention among fans and experts alike.